And Always Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide
by Laura Grey
Summary: Pinocchio, arriving at the Fun-land type place where they do whatever they want..but only he notices that there's something wierd going on... rated T for safety
1. Chapter 1

Pinocchio In Fun-Land

"Come back here!" the man shouted. "Come back and we'll make all your boyhood dreams come true!" That was the sing-song voice of the beginning stages of madness… or perhaps the realization of madness.

Pinocchio was quite sure he would not be coming back, what with his donkey transformation halfway complete… one more thing would surely push him over the edge..

... but wait a minute! I'm getting ahead of myself.

As a narrator, it is my duty to see that the reader know what I'm talking about.

Well, as most of us know, the tale of the little wooden boy begins in a small Italian village with a puppet-maker: Gepetto. He had just finished making a puppet.

Now Gepetto always wanted a son, but with the death of his wife many years ago, that was an impossibility. He had loved her so much that he never married again, instead, he delved further into his work carving beautiful puppets such as the little village had never seen. But this one, this one he imagined what his little boy would look like had Fiorella, his wife bore him one. Her dark eyes, her slender arms, his nose, his sturdy legs, her chin…..this little boy would have all that.

He set the little puppet aside and named him Pinocchio. Gepetto had also wished in his heart that he made a real boy instead of just another puppet.

At the stroke of midnight, the Blue Fairy had come.

The Blue Fairy was the re-incarnation of Fiorella. This time around, she had blonde hair and blue eyes, quite the opposite of her non-magical life. Though the faery-faer of Italy had not deemed it fair and fit that such a lovely and loving creature should never live again. So they picked the most….unpleasant fairy, to give her body so that Fiorella may inhabit it.

Seeing the puppet, considering who made it, she decided to give it a chance at life. She longed to see it laugh, play in the sunlight as other boys do… But then, she thought, Other little boys also lie, steal, and hurt each other… Eureka!

She brought the little boy to life on one condition: "…if you are a good boy, I will make you real. But if you are bad, you will remain a talking puppet forever. You will see Gepetto, your father grow older and older..you will see him die before your very eyes and walk this lonely world alone. Are we understood?"

She was disappearing when she heard a faint yes.

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Gepetto was a great father. Teaching little Pinocchio right from wrong was no easy task however. The Blue Fairy, seeing this, decided to give him a conscience in the form of a cricket. His name was Jiminy. This worked out great until one day; two people tricked Pinocchio into being their slave.

Through a series of mysterious workings, Pinocchio escaped the puppet show to a place that was magical to him. A place where there were no rules, no consequences it seemed. But just because there seems to be no consequences, doesn't mean that they could be the direst of them all… 


	2. Chapter 2

The island loomed closer and closer to the barge our little wooden hero is on. He could not take his eyes off of it. Nor could he shake the haunting feeling that something terrible and wonderful were about to happen. The boys around him were nothing if the picture of excitement itself: whispers and the occasional shout erupted from each group of them, some of them jumping up and down, others were shaking with anticipation.

Pinocchio himself didn't know what the fuss was about. It was just an island for all he could see.. Spotlights creating designs in the sky, fireworks exploding out of nowhere, shots being sounded every half minute; from far away it seemed a paradise, but something didn't seem right about the place.

Still, he was just as excited and curious as anyone else on the barge.

Before they even touched the dock, a tall, slim, mysterious figure leapt onto the front deck. All previous signs of activity were stopped. The boys all gave this new person a wide berth, forming a ring around him. The figure leaned forward and asked "Are you ready?"

He did a back handspring onto the railing in perfect timing with the next firework blast. There he crouched until the ship touched the dock. No one had moved from their previous position. They were all watching what this strange person would do next…wanting to know if he meant good or ill.

One little boy, of sterner stuff than others (or of stupider, as Pinocchio decided), went up to the figure with all the confidence in the world and asked "Who are you? And what exactly are we supposed to be ready for?"

"Well," a silly voice answered, "For the mystical, magical, fun-tastical Jackass Island! The place where a little boy like you can swear, fight, and do whatever his heart desires!"

Lights went on at that last word and they saw the figure for the first time: He was tall, slim, and decked out in a carnival-colored business suit. The jacket fit him like a second skin, as did the pants, his red hair neatly combed under the straw hat he wore. They all gasped, then laughed at what they saw. _This man couldn't be a threat! _They thought, _not with those clothes and that voice especially_!

"See, see, see? No need to be afraid of me! Here on Jackass Island, nothing here will scare you. Why? You boys have been hand-picked by the master because of your manners, or rather lack of them, aye boys?"

At that, a cheer went up. That was the first time Pinocchio noticed how these boys actually looked and seemed like. They had a rough-and tumble look about them: broken noses, bruises, cuts and scrapes, looking as if they didn't give half a damn what anyone thought of them, except that they were tough and not to be messed with.

He even recognized some of them from the village he was made in. They were what Gepetto had called ruffians, the ones that Pinocchio should never be like. And he had agreed for Gepetto's sake that no, not ever would he be like them. But now he didn't see the old puppet maker, so he thought it might be okay to be part of the crowd, even if it's just for once.

So it was that that made Pinocchio go up to the man to get a better look at him. The man seemed to take notice of him and jumped to him. He leaned down towards him and spoke this next speech directly next to his ear, yet loud enough the entire lot of them could hear.

"This place, you see, has no rules, no punishments, repercussions, nothing. Just rewards, games, treats all the time. There are two rules that you must hold to a't' however gents"

A collective groan

"Oh come now, there's only two so let's have a listen, hm? Now rule one: Don't piss off boss, and rule two: Have fun, always. Get it?"

Collective nodding and grunts

"Good... Now may I present: Jackass Island!" he made a grand pointing gesture to the steps that led out of the boat, now bedecked in lights and glowing arrows to the land ahead. The boys cheered and dragged Pinocchio off the barge with them, ready to have the good time promised them.


	3. Chapter 3

At first it was a wonderful testosterone-charged adventure for Pinocchio. He'd made friends with that brave boy that had addressed the man: Bruno. His take-charge attitude took away the boring chore that was thinking for himself. Together the two boys followed "to a 't'" rule two. In fact, they thought that they had perfected rule two. It was rule one that had been bothering Pinocchio… who was this boss character? How was he pissed off?

It was this exact thought that led him to believe that he must not only find out who boss _is_ but to get to know him (so as not to violate rule one). He relayed this idea to Bruno.

"Huh, I always thought Boss meant the guy who introduced us to Jackass Island…" he said.

"I dunno… I saw this door that says 'employees only' on it….I didn't know anyone worked here. I haven't seen anyone over our age come to think of it…" said Pinocchio.

Bruno just shrugged and went back to playing pool. There was a bulge sticking out the back of his trousers, and it was getting bigger and bigger…

"Bruno… what's that?" he said, pointing.

"What's what?" he asked, not looking.

"This…" he put his pool cue down the back of his friend's pants in order to get a better look at it, but only succeeded in ripping them. Bruno let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey man, how'd you know that was bugging me? You're a real pal 'nocch." He said, rubbing his behind.

Pinocchio backed up into the wall, wide eyed. A donkey's tail was there above his friend's crack, swinging as if nothing was out of the ordinary about its being there. Before he knew it, he was out of the room and down the street where he had seen the door.

There it was in plain lettering, explaining to the reader that only people that worked there were allowed inside. _Why would that be here in a place where there's no rules? A place where only kids like me rule and exist on their own? _There was only one way to find out, it seemed.

He opened the door slowly and peered inside. There was nothing inside except for a chair and a wall of magic mirrors. One contained a scene of a shootout parlor, another of a saloon, yet another of the pool hall, one a place that seemed unfamiliar to Pinocchio (picture young women wearing much too much make-up for their age and wearing clothes that are quite revealing), and one with the exact scene Pinocchio was looking at…he waved and the little boy in the magic mirror waved.

Suddenly, he was not so sure he was supposed to be there….

"Hello..." said a soft, sing-songy voice.


	4. Chapter 4

Pinocchio was startled at the vastly familiar voice. He had heard it upon arrival and ever since, telling him to have fun, whatever felt good to do it… and now here.

"What brings you to my office?" he inquired gently.

Pinocchio could only gulp and stay as still as he would were he not a magical puppet.

"You know, I've been keeping an extra eye on you… It seems you have more reserve than the others. I like that."

The man's voice was warm, inviting; but something about him exuded tendrils of cold, grasping out for anything to rip out.

"What are your dreams, hm?" he asked.

"M-my dreams, sir?"

"Oh yes… The dreams of your boyhood are certainly the most precious…" he said dreamily.

"Are you the boss?" asked Pinocchio.

There was a good long pause before he felt the door close behind him. Then there was a wind that rushed to tear at his face, legs, and clothes. Stillness after the storm filled the room.

"My dreams are fulfilled. Just knowing that a little boy like you can have freedom and fun without stop." Said the man.

His voice was near Pinocchio's lips, breath hot near the boy's face. He leaned in closer and closer until he was kissing the little puppet. Then he fell away and said that he was reminded of himself in the wooden boy. Pinocchio was shocked that the man would do something like that.

"Well," he giggled "NOW my dreams are fulfilled. And I can tell this will be something we'll be doing often. Wasn't that fun?"

Pinocchio felt something itching against his rear and the sides of his head. He thought of this new sensation…he had never felt anything before. Curious, he scratched. And scratched. And scratched. The man watched in fascination, then began to laugh. The laugh grew to a dark chuckling, chuckling to cackling of glee.

"PINOCCHIO! Come closer as I realize your boyhood dreams-s-ss-ssss!! Ha-ha!"

The little wooden boy decided he didn't want to stick around any more. Forget the fun. Forget Bruno. He had to get. Out.

He ran as fast as he could to the coast, it wasn't far. But the whole time, he heard the laughter and footsteps coming for him. As he jumped in, he saw the man rolling in the sand calling after him, half-laughing, half-crying…

"Come back here!" the man shouted. "Come back and we'll make all your boyhood dreams come true!" That was the sing-song voice of the beginning stages of madness… or perhaps the realization of madness.

Pinocchio was quite sure he would not be coming back, whatever happened.

While swimming away, he was swallowed by a whale. Inside, he was re-united with Gepetto who was looking for him the whole time. They escaped the whale and went home. Pinocchio was turned into a real boy and lived a normal life.

He never did tell anyone what happened on Jackass Island.

How did I know?

Let's just say I was a _cricket _on the wall....


End file.
